


Reflections

by DonutHolesX0



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Domestic, Just a day in the life of Shino, Past and Present, Slice of Life, thought I'd give it a try
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-26 20:02:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20747939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DonutHolesX0/pseuds/DonutHolesX0
Summary: Life can be tough for one special bug-boy. A short fic about a day in the life of our special Aburame boy, both from his past and from the present.





	Reflections

Warm waves of orange flooded the room, slowly opening his eyes he watched as bright light stained the walls and illuminating his room. Springing from his bed, if he got ready now he would have time to catch some bugs before the academy started. Grabbing his glasses he put them on and adjusted them before dressing himself, he put on a white t-shirt, cargo pants, wraps and his sandals that sat near his door. Donning a large collared jacket, he buttoned all the way to his face, finishing off with a large coat bringing it over his head. He looked in his mirror, he was ready to go.

Rushing off into the hall, his sandals tapping against the wooden floorboards, he made a pit stop at another door. Softly turning the door knob, he didn’t want to wake him up so abruptly. He expected to see his brother, Torune. He whispered his name, checking to see if he was still asleep. No response. He whispered a little louder, “Torune? Are you awake?”, the door creaked open revealing an empty futon, no site of his brother anywhere. _“Where could he have gone?”_ It wasn’t unusual to not see him, but he didn’t think it would be so early. He hardly saw him nowadays. He thought if he woke up early he would have time to spend with him. 

He figured the rest of the clan members needed him again, with his special abilities he always had to be off training how to use them or at the very least conceal them. Closing the door he hurried off once again, he didn’t want to waste time lamenting, he hoped to see him after the academy or at the very least at dinner. Grabbing his insect box and his net he quickly dashed out the front door, sprinting off into the woods. Hoping to beat the sun before it was high in the sky.

\------

The sounds of snoring bounced off the walls, on the bed lay a man with his limbs sprawled out, half his body covered with a sheet while his arm covered his eyes. He was sleeping quite softly, until he could hear a noise. It repeated, almost alarming he figured it was apart of his dream, turning over he finally recognised the sound. Waving his hand near his bedhead he located and hit the dial to stop blaring of his alarm, it was time for him to get up. Running his fingers through his tangled hair, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and crawled out of bed. He had another late night, trying to find more ways for his students to learn in groups and cooperate rather than cause problems and bicker with one another. 

Walking to his kitchen he began scooping amounts of coffee powder into his coffee maker, pressing ‘Start’ he walked over to his bathroom to begin his usual morning routine. Staring at his reflection he rubbed his chin, noticing some stubble growing around his face, he decided to skip shaving today, he’ll do it tomorrow before it gets noticeable. Splashing the cold water on his face, he started to feel a tad more awake than he did a moment ago, some of the droplets crawled down his neck onto his shirt. He could clearly see himself now, were there more crows feet under his eyes? Or was it just the circles around his eyes darkening? Whatever it was it kept reminding him how taxing his job was sometimes. 

Pulling his head through a black turtleneck his hair went in all sorts of directions thanks to the static. Still half asleep all he wanted to do was crawl back into bed, but he made it his responsibility to take care of the future generation, sighing he picked up his visor on his dresser and adjusted it, clicking the sides of it to fasten it in place. 

The beeping of the machine signalled him to start making breakfast, finishing tying his topknot into place he poured a cup for himself, shoving a piece of bread into his toaster. Picking his coat from the hanger nearby he buttoned it up to his neck, adjusting the red beetles on his collar. Looking to his clock, it was already 7:26, he should be leaving his house soon. Grabbing his bag he slung it over his shoulder while quickly drinking the rest of his coffee. The toast was quite hot but he shoved it between his teeth and made his way to the door. Locking it behind him, he was ready to face yet another day of teaching, and quite likely the chaos that would follow.

\------

Sitting and listening to the teacher talking he looked over to his classmate, who was chatting to his dog companion. “Shouldn’t you be listening?” He quietly inquired him. “Who says I’m not? Besides why do you care?” The boy quietly barked back at him, “Because, it would beneficial to the both of us to concentrate on what they’re trying to teach.” He stood by his rhetoric.

“Then shouldn’t you also be concentrating rather than talking to me?” Shino glared at him, in a way he was right, it made him fume. 

“You two at the back!” They both jumped in their seats. “Theres time to chat after class! So you better start listening!” 

“Yes Iruka-sensei!” They both piped up in unision. He buried himself further into his jacket he could feel the eyes and whispers collectively talking to him. Looking over the boy seemed unfazed, continuing to talk to his dog, who was chirping back at him. 

Under the protective shade of a tree, he talked to the insects within him. He enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere away from the other kids, it allowed him to breathe and reflect on himself, gazing up at the clouds scattered across the sky. 

A figure suddenly appeared before him, looking up he recognised the red markings on a familiar frowning face, “Hey, we’re gonna play ball. You should join us, rather than sit near this tree by yourself.” Kiba was always trying to interact with him, but Shino preferred to sit and chat with his bugs. “I’m alright thank you.” He could see how keen he was, “Why not? We’re short a player, you’re pretty good at running aren’t you? You’d be perfect, especially on my team!” He glared his sharp teeth into grin holding out his hand to Shino.

“I would prefer not to. Why? Because I don’t like such rowdy sports.” Looking back at his Kikaichū on his hand.

“Fine. I’ll be seeing you later! C’mon Akamaru.” Pouting at Shino before running off to join the other kids. Maybe he should’ve joined them, it looked like they were having quite the fun time, running around in the dirt chasing the little checkered ball around. He followed it with his eyes, watching it fly directly into someones face. On second thought he probably made the right decision. 

\------

“When intercepted by enemies, say one was at an angle of 59 degrees above you while there were two more at a distance of 3 metres and 2 metres, respectively, behind you. How would you escape or de-escalate the situation?” He addressed his class but received no response. It wasn’t even noon yet everyone looked like they had enough. He could feel his heart strings tug slightly from the lack of noise. “..How about.. Denki.” Calling his name the boy rose from his seat. “Can you give an answer?” Everyones eyes including Shino’s were on him, he hoped he would have an answer, whether it was right or not.

“Er.. I think..” The boy played with his collar, trying to figure out what to say, “Maybe.. Using Shadow clones to distract the ones behind you.. You could then attack the one in the trees head-first yourself.” That was a good answer, it was simple but would be effective in that kind of situation. Shino nodded at him, “Almost, you would indeed make use of your shadow clones, but in these situations it would be best to flee rather than attack.” The loud gonging of the bell went off, signalling the class to start packing up. 

“Reminder, there’s a quiz first thing tomorrow morning. Don’t be late to class, because if you are, marks will be taken off.” Trying his best to set an authoritative tone for his class. Again no one responded, he wasn’t even sure if any of them heard him. He let out a long sigh, _“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.”._

“Shino? Could you check the attendance for a few of the students? I don’t think many of them turned in notes from their parents about their absences.” Anko poked her head from her desk over to Shino, nodding back at her he flicked through his computer files bringing up the attendance graph. “It looks like there are some missing, there are some boxes that haven’t ticked off.”

“Could you list the names for me?” Lining them up he called them out aloud; “Renga, Iwabee and Wasabi. All three have missing absence notes.” 

“..and Wasabi. Ok Thanks Shino! I’ll let you get back to work.” Showing a supportive thumbs up she leaned back over to look at her notes. He sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples, looking at all these files was giving him a headache. He still had the practical lessons to do, something that wasn’t too much of a hassle luckily, his students preferred being outside than in the classroom.

Looking over near the window he could see the bright blue sky, large clouds slowly drifting off towards the Hokage rock. It was such a nice day outside, it lightened his mood a bit. Picking up the cup on his desk, there wasn’t too much work to do, he could get a few spare minutes sitting outside before class started. 

\------

The ringing of the bell concluded his class. Saying his farewells to his classmates he quickly rushed off into the trees. Not wanting to waste any time he could be spending collecting bugs. Walking over to a bush he pushed it aside, finding his stuff the way he left it. Pulling out his net and bug box he cleaned away the stray leaves that coated it. Slinging the strap from the box over him he wandered off to find more beetles. He didn’t manage to catch any that looked different. Most were the standard cicadas and stag beetles, ones he and Torune already caught and observed.

Walking amongst the tall trees a light breeze swept through the leaves above him, looking up he saw something hanging off one of the lower branches of the trees. It was reflecting back at him, a little glimmer of blue, green, pink and finally yellow. It was a stag beetle, but not one he had seen before. Most had a clear reflective surface, he became more and more fascinated as he slowly tiptoed towards it. 

Creeping up to the reflective beetle, he took a deep breath; lifting his arms up slowly; he watched it twitch; he stopped to reposition his feet and… Whap! Right on target. Carefully retrieving his new specimen that was tangled in his net, he looked to see if he hurt it in any way, relieved to see no harm was done. Opening the lid of the box he carefully placed it in allowing it to settle before attaching the lid back on. 

Studying it again, holding the box at eye level, he saw it crawl on the sides confused about its change of environment. “You shouldn’t worry, because I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to show you to someone. I won’t keep you too long.” He saw the bug calm down, becoming placid as if complying to Shino’s words. Picking up his net, the sun was beginning to set, he walked this time, ensuring the beetle wouldn’t be rocking back and forth in the box. He couldn’t wait to show his father and Torune.

\------

“See you tomorrow Shino!” His fellow teachers waved at him. Another day of teaching done, he waved back at them as they went their separate ways in front of the academy. Straightening his back he could feel his muscles playing up again, sitting down for so long can’t be good for him.

Walking through the villages square, staring up he watched the suns bright orange rays spread across the sky. The summers breeze felt so relaxing, something bumped into him snapping him out of his daydream, “Sorry Shino-sensei!” A few of the academy kids yelled out speeding off in a hurry to go somewhere. They still had so much energy in them, _“How are they so energetic?”_ It was heartwarming to see such youth was still alive in this generation, if only they brought some of that to class.

He turned his head to the side, stopping to stare at the small store. Staring at the selection of vegetables and fruits. Begging to think about what he could make for dinner, for the past few nights it had either been rice and salad or just any cup noodles he had, each were easy and quick to eat. He needed to cook something proper, walking closer to see them already packing up for the day. “Lookin’ for anything in particular? We’ve still got some napa cabbage in the back.”

“That won’t be necessary, because I haven’t decided what to do yet.” The grocer shrugged his shoulders, leaving Shino to peruse. Napa cabbage didn’t sound bad, he could make it with some tofu and rice. Scanning around something caught his glimpse, in the corner he saw a sign poking out from a large carton.

‘Winter Melon. 20 ryo a kilo’

It had been ages since he ate winter melon, it was quite cheap too. That was settled, he would make something with winter melon tonight. Picking out a few big pieces and calling over the old grocer.

What else would he need? Something was scratching at the back of his mind, the winter melon in rhythm with his footsteps. If it was something that was important he would’ve made a note of it. Ignoring it he made his way home.

\------

“Did you learn anything new today Shino?” His father spoke cutting something near the sink in the kitchen. Shino sat at the dining table, his head laying on his hands as he stared into his bug box. “Not really. Because Iruka-sensei was briefing us about more shadow techniques.” He heard the door open and the shuffling of sandals. “I’m back.” A voice called out. Torune was home.

“Welcome home.” Both him and his father chimed. Running to greet him first he shoved the box close to his face, “Torune, look.” Torune had to step back a bit to look at what Shino brought him. His eyes lightened up, “Is that a new stag beetle?” Shino nodded his head proudly, “This one is different from the others. Because it doesn’t have a green reflection, it’s more rainbow reflective, see the streaks of yellow and purple?” He couldn’t contain his excitement. 

“I do, thats really cool Shino.” Torune tilted the box to get a closer look. Shino was thrilled to see him so engrossed with it. “Where did you find them?” 

“I found them near the mountain ridge at the edge of the village.” His arms were still stretched out, Torune took it off his hands to let him rest. “Oh, I don’t think I’ve been there yet.” 

“We should go together, because if we do we could find more interesting species.” Shino suggested to him, “Of course, we’ll do it once I finish with my training.” Giving Shino a supportive smile. Shino was delighted he looked just as excited as he was.

“Boys we’ll be having dinner shortly, Shino you better release them before we eat.” Shibi told them, placing a large pot in the middle of the table.

“What are we having?” Torune asked giving the box back to Shino. “Rice and winter melon soup.” Shino replied merrily, it was his favourite after all, pulling Torune with him as his feet carried him to the front door.

He walked outside to his front porch, Torune by his side. He looked back into the box one more time, “Thank you for your time.” He cooed at the beetle, laying the box down and taking the lid off. They watched it crawl up the side, twitch its antennae before spreading its wings and fly back off into the woods.

\------

He shook the bag, trying to scrape together whatever grains were left. He forgot he needed to get rice. Collecting the grains into the bowl, there was barely enough for one cup. Defeated he put the bowl near his kettle, he would use it once he gets more rice, _“Looks like it’s cup noodles again..”_ He sighed. He didn’t want the winter melon going to waste, he thought about what he could do with it besides soup. It hit him, he could use the winter melon as a side dish instead.

Filling his kettle with water he placed it on the stove next to a pan. Turning the dials to start heating the both of them, leaving the pan on a lower flame. Cutting the winter melon into strips, he placed them on the hot pan, adding some soy sauce and sugar and stirring it all together. The smell enough brought back memories. Cracking an egg and whisking it all together until it set. It wasn’t much but he didn’t seem to mind. The kettle screamed out, hot steam pouring from it mouth, Shino turned the stove off for the pan and the kettle, scooping the contents of the pan onto a plate before opening the cup noodles. 

Placing his still cooking noodles next to his plate of winter melon he finally sat down, he removed his visor with a couple of clicks, placing it on the table as he leaned his head back on the chair. Taking a few seconds to rest as he closed his eyes. He pulled the string from the back of his head to let his hair out, ruffling it to comb out any knots. The noodles should be done by now. “Itadakimasu.” He picked a few bits of melon with his chopsticks and dipped it with some noodles. They were still hot but the taste of the sweet melon helped cool it down. He needed to add less soy sauce next time but nonetheless he enjoyed it. 

Moving pile of papers away from the table he spotted a book, picking it up he tried to remember why he had it. Thats right, he borrowed it from The Sixth Hokage the last time he came to the academy, he said it might help him find himself. Whatever that meant. Flicking through the pages he landed on a random chapter and read the first line; _’They embraced, their love finally recognised. As he lay down next to his love, his hand rubbing her chest, as the other began to slide down her-’_ He shut the book flustered. That was enough light reading for the night.

\------

Sitting on the couch next to Shibi, Torune seated on the other side, the both of them leaned into his arms while they listened to him read, “The prince thanked the nin for saving his kingdom. The nin, humbled, accepted his thanks for it was a pleasure to know they served him well. Their work was done, they left the prince and his now peaceful kingdom, walking down the dirt road towards the sunset. The End.” Shibi closed the book. Shino rubbed his eyes, his head felt so heavy, ready to lie down and sleep.

“Ok, you two get ready for bed, I need to do a couple of things first. I’ll come say goodnight after.” They both nodded sliding off the couch. Torune leading the half asleep Shino towards the bathroom to brush their teeth.

“Have you made any more friends at the academy?” Torune questioned him as he passed Shino his toothbrush. “Not yet, or.. actually I might have.” Thinking back to the boy with the dog.

“Really? Who are they?” Torune helped him place some toothpaste onto his brush. “Well, I wouldn’t call them friends yet. Thats because I haven’t gotten that close to them yet.” 

Torune chuckled through his brushing. Shino continued, “There is one boy, but he’s always talking with his dog companion of his. I’m not sure if he’s someone I’d be friends with.”

Spitting into the sink to clear his mouth, “Is that no different from us? I talk to my Rinkaichū sometimes, and you talk to your Kikaichū don’t you?” Returning back to brushing leaving Shino to think. “I guess so.” Talking through bubbles of toothpaste. Leaning over the sink so nothing would leak from his mouth.

Torune filled up both of the cups sitting on the sink with water, “He sounds like a nice kid, keep him around with you. I think he’ll be quite the loyal friend to you.” Taking one to wash out his mouth, Shino nodded, Torune was right, maybe he did have more in common with Kiba than he thought. The next time he asked Shino to play, he would join him. Lifting the cup of water into his mouth he gargled before spitting into the sink. 

Smiling at the mirror to look at his teeth, Torune joined him. What was two boys checking their teeth turned into a face contest, or at least Torune made it into a contest, sticking his tongue out while pulling the sides of his mouth. He got no reaction from Shino who remained resilient in checking his teeth. Catching Torune off-guard when he finally caved in, blowing up his cheeks to look like a pufferfish, the sound of laughter echoed throughout the house.

\-----

The water felt soothing against his back, letting the hot water wash away any soap that was left. Running through his memories for the day he knew the first thing to do was review the quiz, in case he needed to change any of the questions and reprint it, which would involve him waking up earlier in the morning. He turned the water off, running his hands down his face to rid of the water in his eyes. Grabbing his towel and drying off his hair, he wrapped it around his waist before stepping out of the shower.

Wiping the steam off the mirror he took another look at himself, lifting his head to look at the scar he got from Kiba. Tracing the long line under his jaw, he remembered that day, his teammates were trying their best to help him improve on his Taijutsu, he didn’t gauge how far Kiba was from him and in return he managed to graze him quite deep with his claws. The both were in such distress over it, especially Hinata. Not over the sight of blood but when they expecting him to bleed what came after was some of his insects, pouring out of his wound, freaking the both of them out. He chuckled to himself, Kiba became so much more wary around him after that. 

Grabbing his toothbrush, he realised he hadn’t seen him for a while, nor Hinata. It felt like years since they last caught up, they were all so busy it seems like they hardly ever had time to have such a luxury. He reminisced the days he had with his teammates, talking amongst each other while enduring Kurenai’s harsh training. He shuddered thinking back on the training, he decided not to think about it too much, placing the toothpaste on and brushing his teeth. 

Slumped over his dining table he reread the questions, he hoped what he planned wasn’t too hard for his students, but he didn’t want to make it too easy. His class were a talented bunch, especially the Uchiha girl, most of the time they performed well, but they seemed to do better practically than academically. 

Pulling on his shirt he waved the front of it to cool himself off, having a hot shower in the summer was nice, but it always left him sweating immediately after. He debated whether or not to start teaching them about the history of Konoha or about elemental jutsu, something he was also interested to learn about. It depended on how they did on the quiz, if they appeared tired out he’d concentrate on weapons, if they weren’t then the latter. Reaching into his bag he pulled out a few textbooks, he may as well start compiling notes before making a decision. 

\------

Shino had gotten so tired, he could barely keep his eyes open. Torune had to drag him to his room, otherwise he may have very well slept on the wooden floor in the hallway.

Saying goodnight to Torune he watched him shut his door, retiring for the night. Taking off his jacket he hung it back up hear his dresser, placing his glasses near his bed and crawling under the covers. 

Shino tucked himself into his futon, almost ready to fall asleep he heard footsteps coming towards him, watching light pour in from his door opening, he saw his father enter the room, “Everything ok Shino?”

“Yes father…” He tried to talk over his yawn but it took over his voice, showing exactly how tired he was. It had been quite the day for him. His little bursts of energy were finally depleted, in need of rest. 

“Alright then. Goodnight, sleep well. I’ll see you in the morning.” Shibi ran his hand through Shino’s hair. Leaning down to kiss his forehead before making his way to the door, looking at him one more time he quietly made his exit. 

\------

By the time he finished it was close to one in the morning, rubbing his eyes he knew he should make his way to bed. He didn’t need to reprint the quizzes luckily but he got distracted from reading all the material he needed for tomorrows class. As much as he didn’t like to admit it, he had spent a few minutes reading The Sixths book, he could only make it one chapter before stopping, he didn't have the strength to read any more of it. Packing all his notes and books into a pile he stretched out his arms, accompanying it with a loud yawn.

Falling down onto his bed he face planted into his pillow, his legs still hanging off the side he buried himself into the soft fabric. Finally getting the energy to lift his legs up onto his bed, rolling over onto his back and cover himself with the sheets.

He pulled the covers close to his face,

He wanted to make an effort in interacting with his classmates, especially Kiba, he shouldn’t take them for granted. For his and Torune’s sake he will try to play with them more. 

It felt like a day of nostalgia for him, first thing after the academy tomorrow he would give his teammates a call. Hope they would agree to meet up with him and just catch up.

Curling up on his side to get in a better position,

All he could think of was if he would find any more different species like he found today. He would have to try and catch Torune in the morning before he leaves again. Looking outside his window he could see the moon shining bright, with hints of the stars littering the night sky.

He predicted it was going to be another taxing day. Staring at his ceiling, the lights from his blinds making perfect straight lines decorating it to the wall leading into the kitchen. He felt so tired but his eyes didn’t want to close. Grabbing his pillow he buried his head into it again.

Just what kind of day did he have in store for him? All he could do was let his mind wonder, his eyes finally carrying him off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Speaking of rest, thats something I'm sure we all need, especially me ahaha. Thank you for reading! Writing about our little Aburame is always so much fun so I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next time!


End file.
